MITIE gives a facelift to Naomi House's flagship store
Before and after the refurbishment
MITIE, the strategic outsourcing and asset management company has donated a complete refurbishment of the Naomi House Children’s Hospice charity shop in Winchester, transforming it from a traditional charity shop into a store which hopes to attract everyday shoppers looking for designer label bargains.
The refurbished store in Winchester was re-launched on 29 May 2009 by Khalid Aziz, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Naomi House, and local celebrity Fred Dineage, a presenter on Meridian Tonight.
The re-launch was preceded by three weeks of work by the MITIE team who completely stripped out the shop and transformed it into a modern retail store. But MITIE didn’t stop at just refitting the shop. The MITIE team stayed on after works were complete to put in place an innovative shop design and to assist Winchester shop manager Andrea Balmer with visual merchandising and restocking.
Sarah Radburn, part of MITIE’s team said: “We really wanted to give Naomi House a store which was unrivalled in the local area. Shoppers in Winchester expect prestigious retail environments and we’ve gone all out to provide this. We’ve kept the walls and floors in a simple cream and the fixtures and fittings are finished in chrome to provide a modern and luxurious feel. It really bares no resemblance to a charity shop now and the takings trebled in the first week so we’re really pleased with that – as are Naomi House!”
Since 2006, when MITIE adopted Naomi House as one of its regional charities, it has raised more than £70,000 for the charity through different fundraising events, including staff fundraising, charity events and recycling. As part of their corporate social responsibility MITIE also helped to organise the 2009 Naomi House Clarendon Walk from Winchester Cathedral to Salisbury Cathedral, which took place on 7 June hoping to raise more than £125,000.
"It seemed wrong for Naomi House to spend the money that they raise on repairs and upgrading its shop..."
Photo courtesy of the Southern Daily Echo
David Harper, a MITIE director and the man responsible for the idea of raising money to refit the shop commented: “It seemed wrong for Naomi House to spend the money that they raise on repairs and upgrading its shop when they so desperately need to spend the money on the upkeep of Naomi House. On the other hand, their charity shops bring in a fair bit of revenue and we were delighted that we have been able to use the resources and business skills from across MITIE to improve the shop for them, opening up their customer base to include everyday shoppers in the Winchester area.”
Andrea Balmer, Naomi House’s shop manager said: “The difference is amazing. I’m really excited to be running the new flagship store and the charity volunteers who work here say it’s going to be a much nicer place to work. The shop is now so light and clean and we’re attracting so many more passers-by who would have previously not come in. We’re looking forward to a new beginning at the Winchester store and hope we can take even more money to help the hospice to continue to provide care for children. I would like to personally thank the team from MITIE who made what was a big change really easy and worked their socks off to finish on time.”
